From the very beginning, Rasa had never taken Danzo's Northern Army seriously. Given his nature, he would have preferred to deploy his forces openly and clash with Danzo head-on, while sending a detachment to continuously harass Konoha's supply lines. The strategy might be old-fashioned, but it was absolutely effective—after all, that's just the geographical reality of the Land of Wind.
However, Jinghang had specifically instructed Rasa before the battle to keep things low-key this time and preserve their forces as much as possible.
It wasn't that Jinghang lacked confidence in Rasa—he was worried about the unpredictable factor that was Iwagakure.
Although Iwagakure had temporarily quieted down due to the Fourth Tsuchikage Murasaki's unexpected death and Son Gokū's rampage, who knew when Kitsuchi might get stirred up by someone's instigation and lose his mind again?
To the west, Akasuna no Sasori only had six regiments under his command—far too thin a defense. Sunagakure simply couldn't afford to gamble.
This required an absolutely formidable nail to be driven deep into Sunagakure's western flank, ensuring the absolute safety of Sunagakure's main village.
It wasn't that Jinghang was being overly cautious—Konoha was simply too powerful at this moment.
You have to understand, Konoha was at its absolute peak right now. The old generation could still fight, and the new generation was ready for major responsibilities. In the original manga, they managed to fight three or even four villages simultaneously (there was no direct evidence of Kirigakure's participation) and still achieved victory. Jinghang had spent nearly a decade building up enough strength just to have the capital for "battle"—but to directly pull Konoha down from its throne in one stroke? He truly didn't have absolute confidence.
So Jinghang had only one requirement for Rasa: preserve their fighting strength, ensure Moon Lake didn't fall, and wait for circumstances to change. As for what this "change in circumstances" would be, Jinghang hadn't specified.
Basically, just hunker down. No problem—they could handle that.
But Danzo's behavior on the opposite side was equally abnormal. As soon as he arrived, he began massive "infrastructure construction," as if planning to settle down permanently.
Actually, Rasa had secretly positioned a main force regiment in the Black Prince Desert—the 22nd Regiment of the 3rd Division. This was a unit that had previously fought sand bandits in the Black Prince Desert and was extremely experienced in desert warfare, prepared to strike Konoha's supply lines when the opportunity arose.
But this time, Danzo was unusually concerned about logistical security. Not only did he build seventeen bunkers in succession as temporary supply stations, but he somehow acquired over a hundred decommissioned first-generation Sunagakure warships specifically for transporting supplies. Though not as fast as active vessels, the distances between bunkers weren't long, making mutual support very convenient. Danzo also specially arranged a combat patrol team with formidable fighting strength. The 22nd Regiment had clashed with them several times without gaining any significant advantage—in fact, they nearly got surrounded. To preserve their strength, Rasa decided to have this force lie low and wait for the critical moment to strike.
So they'd just wait it out. If Konoha wasn't in a hurry, Sunagakure was even less so. As long as he held Moon Lake New District, Danzo couldn't pull any major stunts. Wars had to be fought, but life had to go on too—approaching this battle with the mindset of living day by day actually aligned with Rasa's strategy.
However, in Rasa's view, Danzo was definitely plotting something sinister. The two had dealt with each other during the joint "Wind-Fire Operation" between their villages, even collaborating on battle plans. This man gave the impression of a venomous snake—when he didn't strike, nothing happened, but when he did, it was always a killing blow.
As for what that killing blow might be, he couldn't figure it out for now. Better to secure his own defenses first.
Rasa hadn't been idle. First, he constructed a ring of deep trenches behind the Rakan Puppet Formation (to prevent enemy underground sneak attacks). Behind the trenches, he built another ring of defensive fortifications. Not only that, but within Moon Lake New District itself—whether in agricultural, industrial, or residential areas—he set up barricades and trenches everywhere. Even if all outer defensive positions were lost, they could hold out for at least a year and a half through urban warfare.
Though his ninja force was older on average, they weren't weak—all were veterans hardened by years of battlefield experience who knew their positions without needing excessive instruction. His deputies Karuke and Yura—one his brother-in-law, the other a former subordinate—made command smooth and easy to work with. The three rotated shifts, and once real fighting began, they'd all be on the front lines.
Today happened to be Rasa's turn on duty.
At midnight, Rasa was awakened just as he'd fallen asleep.
"Report to Lord Kazekage! Konoha ninja have launched attacks from Area 3 and Area 9!"
Rasa immediately rolled out of bed. During duty periods, he slept fully clothed and hadn't been sleeping deeply.
"Have you activated emergency defenses according to the contingency plan?"
Rasa asked while putting on his shoes.
"The 23rd and 24th Regiments have already deployed the puppet defense system and are currently engaged in fierce battle."
Distant sounds of explosive tag detonations echoed through the air.
"Hm? Something's wrong! Why are there such dense explosions? So many explosive tags! Some are even cluster explosive tags! Let's go—to the control center!"
Rasa rushed to the control center, which was set up identically to Sunagakure's control center—the same chubby Lushu wearing a special helmet directing operations, with eight hundred ninja behind him continuously providing chakra to power the Rakan Puppet Formation's defenses.
"What's the situation?"
Rasa asked anxiously.
"Not good."
Lushu shook his head.
"Konoha's playing a new tactic this time. I can tell—they're using Shadow Clones carrying massive amounts of explosive tags to destroy our puppet defense system through bombing."
"Our puppets are forged from the strongest mountain copper alloy. Would they fear explosive tags?"
"But they can't withstand constant bombing like this."
Lushu smiled bitterly.
"It's been five minutes since the battle started. Listen—have the explosions stopped even once? Konoha clearly prepared for this, stockpiling massive quantities of explosive tags specifically for tonight. Not only that..."
Lushu pulled out a defensive map of Moon Lake New District and drew two circles with his pen.
"Around the perimeter of Areas 3 and 9, there are large numbers of Konoha ninja—these aren't Shadow Clones, they're real people!"
"How many?"
Rasa asked.
"Three thousand at each location."
Lushu answered without hesitation.
"So that's Danzo's plan. He's really willing to pay the price."
Explosive tags weren't cheap.
Rasa immediately issued orders:
"Command! All combat personnel, emergency assembly! According to Plan No. 2, fall back to the second defensive line and prepare for battle at any moment!"
"Yes, sir!"
A messenger ninja repeated the order and hurried out of the tent.
"It's time to use that thing, Lushu!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Notify the 25th Regiment—enter the backup control room and prepare to activate the Kamikaze Special Attack Force! All timing for deployment is at Lushu's discretion!"
"Don't worry, Lord Kazekage. Just watch me put on a spectacular show!"
With that, Lushu excitedly put on his helmet and listened carefully.
Just then, a strange blue light suddenly appeared above the control center.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
The story isn't over...
🤔 Want to know what happens next to the characters?
🤫 Eager to explore the untold secrets of this world?
✍️ Ready to read more of my wildest stories?
✨patreon.com/DarkGolds